Hizbullah's Demands, Schools Teach 'Resistance'

Hizbullah's is forcing public schools to dedicate a one-hour session to teaching the history of the ‘Resistance.’

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Rachel Hirshfeld, 28/02/12 18:32

Hizbullah

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Hizbullah and its allies have “taken advantage” of their role in the government in order to force public schools and the Lebanese University to dedicate a one-hour session for teaching the history of ‘Resistance,’ Lebanese University (LU) students affiliated with the Lebanese Forces party said on Monday.

The students were referring to a decision that was taken by Education Minister Hassan Diab, The Lebanese news channel Ya Libnan reported.

In a written statement the students asked: “What Resistance are you talking about? Are you referring to the one which plunged Lebanon into futile wars and achieved illusory victories? Or is it the Resistance which violated Lebanon’s sovereignty through establishing [its own private] telecommunication networks on public properties?”

“The term ‘Resistance’ in Lebanon refers mainly to the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah militant group. Hizbullah declared victory at the end of the 2006 war with Israel and tried to bring down the government in 2008 over the issue of its private telecommunication network, Ya Libnan explained.

The students lashed out against the government for allowing Hizbullah to take advantage of its dominant role in the cabinet in order to impose its will and achieve its goals.

In 2009, NOW Lebanon news reported that Beirut’s International College (IC), in response to Hezbollah’s demands, one of the most prestigious private schools in the country, agreed to cover the pages of a middle school textbook with plaster opaque stickers, in an effort to hide the information beneath.

At that time, Mohammad Fneish, a Hizbullah part member and minister of labor took issue with a US textbook entitled Modern World History, which contained information depicting Hizbullah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad as terrorist organization.

Imad al-Ashkar, the head of private education for the ministry of education noted that the section of the book deemed unfavorable by Hizbullah is “is hidden totally… so no one can read anything under it. If you try to remove the sticker to read the text, it would take apart the page.”